Species Spotlight: Mallard Duck
This species of waterfowl can be found year-round on Long Island! If you were to take a walk over to a pond or park right now, even in the middle of winter, you would most likely find this species!! For today’s Species Spotlight, let’s learn more about the Mallard duck!
The Mallard is the most familiar wild duck to many people and is the ancestor to many breeds of domesticated ducks. They belong to the waterfowl family Anatidae. Mallards are the most widespread and abundant duck in North America. They are also found all across Europe and Asia and are thought to be the most abundant and wide-ranging duck on Earth!
Male Mallard Duck (Top)
Female Mallard Duck (Below)
The white-bordered blue patch, called a speculum, can be found on the wings of both males and females.
Mallards can be found in almost any wetland habitat.
Mallards feed in the water by tipping forward and rarely dive under.
A female Mallard incubating her eggs in her nest.
Mallard ducklings are covered in soft down.
Mallard Duck
Scientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos
Identification: Mallards are large ducks with rounded heads and wide flat bills. They have a long body and their tail sits out of the water. When in flight, their wings are broad and are set back toward their rear. Male Mallards have a dark, iridescent-green head and a bright yellow bill. They have a gray body, brown breast, and black rear. Females and juveniles are speckled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both males and females have a white-bordered, blue patch in the wing called a speculum.
Diet: Mallards are dabbling ducks, meaning they feed in the water by tipping forward. They also forage on the shore and will pick at vegetation and prey on the ground. Mallards will eat a wide variety of food including: seeds, aquatic vegetation, aquatic insect larvae, earthworms, snails and freshwater shrimp.
Habitat: Mallards can be found in almost any wetland habitat. This includes marshes, bogs, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, city parks, farms, estuaries, and more! Ducks play an important role in the wetland ecosystem. Through foraging, they create plant biodiversity and can remove invasive species! Here on Long Island, you can find mallards year-round!
Find this Species: You can find Mallards at your local city or suburban parks with water features. You may even see them in your swimming pool! If you want to see them in a more natural setting, visit a nearby pond or lake. Mallards will most likely be the most common waterfowl you see!
Interesting Facts: Mallards are strong fliers! Migrating Mallard flocks have been estimated to travel at 55 miles per hour!
The classic “duck quack” that you think of, is the sound of a female Mallard. Males don’t quack! Males make a quieter, rasping sound.
Mallard pairs form before the spring breeding season. Pairing takes place in the fall, but courtship can be observed all throughout the winter. Pairs search for nest sites together, but only the female incubates the eggs and takes care of the ducklings.
A Mallard nest is about a foot across, with a space for the eggs that is 1–6 inches deep and 6–9 inches across. A female Mallard can lay a clutch of 1-13 eggs.
Newly hatched Mallard ducklings are covered in soft down. They are very alert and are ready to leave the nest within 13-16 hours!
Some of the threats to Mallards include: poor water quality, including mercury, pesticide, and selenium pollution, wetland clearing or drainage, and oil spills.